The Internet of Things is slowly taking over our lives

According to the latest Digital Trends Report from Adobe Digital Index (ADI) the Internet of Things is gaining a foothold in more and more people's lives.

The report is based on 22 billion visits to branded websites and over 20 million social engagements across Facebook, Twitter, Instagram and other sites. Also included in the report is survey data based on 400 US consumers who own either a smartphone or tablet.

The survey finds that 50 per cent of respondents have interacted with home IoT devices, and that 15 per cent own a smart device such as a thermostat, smart home system or smart smoke alarm. Social buzz indicates that ‘Google On Hub’ is the most popular IoT device.

"Mobile, and specifically larger-screen smartphones, are enabling a lot of behaviours," says Joe Martin, senior analyst at ADI. "People are really happy with how they're working. It's definitely making things easier. It also leads to the kind of data-driven world we live in now. You can look up your Nest thermostat and see how it’s being used, and you adjust it with your mobile phone and collect data about how things are working within your home".

Other findings are that browsing and searching are increasingly being done via personal assistant applications. Facebook M is expected to take the lead here, despite its limited beta, it's receiving four times more social buzz than any other digital assistant available today. Siri is currently ranked as the number one virtual assistant, but Facebook M is expected to overtake it once it’s broadly available.

Despite the move to digital assistants, the browser wars go on and Microsoft Edge is expected to gain traction with tech enthusiasts. Although only 1.4 per cent of browser visits currently come from Microsoft Edge, with Chrome and Safari dominating browser visits, positive social media buzz for Microsoft’s browsers has increased by 75 per cent. Edge has the highest adoption rate and is expected to gain traction with tech enthusiasts, especially as businesses roll out Edge to employees.

ADI also predicts that with nearly 40 per cent of consumers likely to buy a smartwatch in the next six months, smartwatches are expected to overtake fitness trackers as the most common wearable technology. Social buzz indicates that the Apple Watch is the smartwatch most likely to be purchased.